From a Raven's Nest
by SixPerfections
Summary: On a whim, Raven Branwen took her daughter with her when she left Taiyang. Raised as a ruthless outlaw in her mother's Tribe, Yang Branwen knows that only the strong survive and that weakness is the greatest sin of all. Then one day her Uncle Qrow shows up with an invitation to Beacon Academy and stories of a half-sister she's never met. AU. Bandit!Yang
1. Chapter 1

AN: I already have so many active stories I really should not be starting another one. However this plot bunny just refused to go away. I'm not a hundred percent sure if this story will continue yet. Let me know what you think.

Summary: On a whim, Raven Branwen took her daughter with her when she left Taiyang. Raised as a ruthless outlaw in her mother's Tribe, Yang Branwen knows that only the strong survive and that weakness is the greatest sin of all. Her view of the world will start to be challenged, however, when her Uncle Qrow shows up one day with an invitation to Beacon Academy and stories of a half-sister she's never met. AU. Bandit!Yang.

()()()

He finally found her a few miles away from the main camp, sitting cross-legged high up by the edge of a sheer cliff. She was looking out towards the seemingly endless span of Sanus forest that stretched out from the skirts of the mountain range that the Tribe was currently hiding out in. It occurred to Qrow that his niece looked lost in thought and maybe even a little melancholy… a bit weird considering her usual personality as he remembered it. Still, everyone needed to brood from time to time. Qrow knew that better than just about anyone.

He also knew that he should probably give her plenty of warning, but Qrow had always had something of a mischievous streak that would likely stick until the day he finally kicked the bucket for good. Silent and light footed, Qrow slowly sneaked his way forward until he was only a couple of meters behind her. With a smirk Qrow cupped his hands in front of his mouth and yelled.

"HOW YOU DOING, KID?"

He's honestly hoped that she would jump two feet in the air and let out a cute little startled yelp like Ruby did whenever he snuck up on her. Instead the young woman leaped up into an aggressive crouch in an instant, her body simultaneously turning and drawing the sword at her hip in one lightning-quick, violent movement. The heavy blade lashed out almost instinctively towards his torso with enough power behind it to easily chop a Beowolf clean in half.

He'd hoped, but he'd known that this reaction was about what he could expect. Drawing his own weapon in one smooth motion Qrow blocked her strike, grunting a little at the strength he'd felt in her blow. _Well what do you know? You've gotten pretty strong there kid._

Briefly out of professional curiosity his eyes flickered to her sword. She'd still been in the process of building her own weapon the last time he'd seen her and this was his first time seeing the finished result. Its length was similar to that of his own sword but that was where the similarities ended. It was a red, black and gold slab of metal with serrated shark-like teeth on one side set on a sturdy chain. Qrow almost sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of it. _A giant chainsword. What on Remnant would have made you settle for such a brutal weapon?_

His eyes snapped back to his niece and he could see it in her red eyes when recognition flickered to light. The ferocious scowl on her face eased as she blinked and her expression changed to one of surprise and bewilderment. She took a step back, disentangling their weapons and looking at him like she couldn't quite believe he was there.

"… Uncle Qrow?" she asked. The nearly gobsmacked expression on her face made him grin.

"Hey Yang. It's good to see you again, little firecracker," he said, putting away his sword and opening his arms just a tad dramatically. "Now why don't you come over here and give your favorite uncle a great big hug?"

Yang blinked again before slowly putting away her sword. She smiled at him, sardonic and mischievous, before stepping up to him like she was going to give him a hug. In hindsight he felt like a total idiot that he didn't see it coming when, instead of giving him a hug, she suckered punched him right in the gut hard enough to knock the wind out of him and drop him to his knees.

"Three years!" she yelled at him, face now flushed and furious, the red of her eyes and the yellow of her hair seeming to glow brighter as her temper flared. "Three years. You couldn't be bothered to stop by for three years, your frikking asshole!"

Even though he was on his knees holding his smarting stomach, Qrow couldn't help but look up at Yang and give her something that could have been mistaken for a proud little smile. _You really_ have _gotten pretty strong. Guess you're not half bad at punching things, just like your old man._

Instead of saying any of that he gave her a mocking, reproving smile that had driven more than one person into a rage. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?" he needled "Because even though my dear sister likes it when you chop up innocent villagers so you can take their stuff, I know for a fact that she still gets on your case about bad language."

A look of almost apoplectic rage settled on Yang's face and the glow of her eyes and hair increased, the latter looking like it could be just moments away from catching fire. Without even really being aware of what she was doing Yang's hand drifted and settled on the pommel of her sword in a way that made Qrow just a twinge uneasy. Using a trick with his Aura he washed away the rest of the lingering discomfort from her blow and rose smoothly to his feet.

"Bad joke, okay?" he said in a conciliatory tone. "Let's not get bogged down in old family disagreements just yet. I'm sorry I haven't been around. Though I did miss you, kid."

At his words the hardness in Yang's face and posture eased and began to melt away, her glow receding until there was only regular looking hair and red eyes left. She crossed her arms across her chest, turning her body away from him and giving him an unhappy look. For the first time since he had found her she looked more like a regular pouting teenager and less like one of those wild, trigger happy nutjobs that made up the raiders of the Tribe. Even though she wasn't happy with him it made something ease in Qrow's chest.

"Why didn't you find us in so long?" she asked, and though she tried to hide it Qrow could hear the hurt in her voice.

It made something squirm guiltily inside him, but in the end Qrow couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth.

The truth was that he'd been scared.

Three years ago when he had last visited, Raven had told him that she was going to start taking Yang on raids in a few weeks. They'd gotten into a screaming match that only by some miracle and by the interruption of a startled fourteen year old Yang hadn't descended into blows. Qrow didn't think he could stand watching the bright and happy firecracker that had been Yang get twisted and changed by the murderous, parasitic life of a raider and a bandit.

So he had stayed away. Like a coward. He hadn't even known what the hell to tell Tai. So in the end he hadn't said anything.

But… now he was back. And hopefully… maybe… he could start to set some things right.

"I'm sorry firecracker," he said, voice laced with genuine regret. "I've been traveling all over the kingdoms for a few years. Had to spend a lot of time away from Sanus, more than I would have liked. But that's the job." All of it true. And not the real reason why he had stayed away.

Yang frowned at that, seeming to chew it over. "You still working for that Ozpin guy?"

Qrow huffed a bit in laughter at that. Only someone who had never lived in the kingdoms would refer to him as _that Ozpin guy_. "Yup. That hasn't changed, and it probably won't anytime soon."

"Mom says he's an idealistic idiot who will sooner or later get everyone who looks to him for protection killed," Yang said to him in a tone that he interpreted as, _Why are you still working for a guy my mom detests and that kept my most wonderful, incredibly handsome uncle away from me for so long?_

Qrow shrugged his shoulders. "Your mom thinks a lot of things that a lot of other people disagree with. Even though it's hard sometimes, I'm doing what I believe in. Can't really blame a guy for that, right?"

Yang didn't look particularly happy, but at least she looked to be more relaxed and comfortable as their conversation wore on. "I'm not sure I buy that. People can believe some really stupid things."

"Well, that we can agree on," he said to her with a wink. Yang narrowed her eyes, looking a bit exasperated at his antics, but in the end couldn't stop an amused smirk from blossoming across her face. Good. It was nice to see that at least she hadn't been turned ice cold like Raven, who could make an Atlesian Knight look warm and fuzzy by comparison when she set her mind to it. Yang had gotten too much of her father's personality for that.

That was when he noticed something. Qrow narrowed his eyes in suspicion. His instincts began telling him that something wasn't quite right here.

"Hey Yang," he began, sounding a touch more serious. "As I remember it your Semblance only ever turned your eyes red in the middle of a fight. How come they're not going back to normal?"

Yang shrugged one shoulder, seemingly unconcerned. "They're always like that now."

Qrow sensed there was a story behind that. And it didn't feel like it would be a good one at all. "What do you mean?"

Yang's expression hardened a bit, her back straightened and she lifted her chin in a proud and defiant manner. "We figured out that not only am I stronger when my eyes turn red, but my senses and my reflexes also get a boost. Mom trained me to the point where my Semblance is always active, so that I'm always ready for battle at an instant's notice. Anything else is completely unacceptable."

Qrow had to resist the urge to scowl at hearing Yang sound so much like Raven. In fact he wouldn't be surprised if she was repeating what his dear sister had almost certainly drilled into her head word for word. Though it had always felt like a losing battle, and maybe even perhaps the war had already been lost, he didn't want Yang to turn out like Raven had.

"I thought you had to be angry in order for your eyes to change," Qrow said, the question clear in his tone.

Yang made a little scoffing sound. "Yeah, that's true."

"Then how did you train yourself so that your eyes are always red?" he asked, feeling he knew the answer already and dreading that he was right.

She smirked at him, her eyes filling with something he didn't like. "That's simple Uncle Qrow," she said. "I'm _always_ angry."

 _Grimm shit. You really did that to your own daughter? If you weren't my sister… sometimes I don't even know what the_ hell _you're thinking, Raven._ He wasn't any kind of shrink. But even _he_ knew this couldn't be good for Yang's state of mind.

The blonde must have seen something on his face because she sent a searing, scorching glare of warning in his direction. "You haven't been around so you don't get to lecture me. I'm stronger now than I've ever been before. Strength is all that matters. Strength is life. Weakness is death. You _know_ this, so I don't want to hear any lecturing crap from you."

Qrow sighed, and tried not to be too obvious about looking at her sadly since he was half-sure that would just set her off. Yes, being strong was important but it wasn't something you could really build a life around. Raven never _got_ that. His sister had always been so concerned with being a survivor that she never left herself any room to actually live. Now it seemed that that same toxic philosophy had been passed on to Yang.

Qrow shook his head. Now that he knew what was behind it the permanent red color of Yang's eyes, that same Branwen red that he and his sister had, it unnerved him. Still he knew that Yang was too defensive and riled up to listen to any advice to calm down. An idea struck him that caused his lips to quick upwards. Okay, it _might_ not be the best idea in the world, but from what he could tell from just a few minutes the girl really needed to relax. And in his mind there was only one real way to let your hair down that didn't involve taking off all your clothes or beating the hell out of somebody else.

"Lecture? Who said anything about a lecture?" he said with a smile that seemed to make Yang wary. He reached into his traveling pack and with a flourish produced his prize.

"What is it?" Yang asked, her voice a mixture of apprehension and interest.

"A whole bottle of genuine Mistral scotch, aged ten years. Just a little something I picked up on my last trip," he said with a grin. "It's _real_ good stuff, trust me. I figured me and you could share a few drinks, catch up on old times. There's no better way to reconnect with family than with some good alcohol. What do you say?"

Yang bit her lip, hesitating. "Mom doesn't really like it when I drink."

"Are you really going to let that stop you?"

Yang looked up at the challenge in his eyes for a few seconds before returning his conspiratory grin with one of her own.

"Hell no. Open her up, Uncle Qrow," she said cheerfully, her previous animosity towards him forgotten.

Qrow gleefully complied… before belatedly realizing that he had no idea if Yang was an angry drunk.

Oh well.


	2. Chapter 2

As it turned out, Yang wasn't an angry drunk at all. Instead she was much more of a giggly drunk. Much more pleasant to be around as far as Qrow was concerned.

"… then after making moon eyes at your mom for half the night, the guy finally gets the nerve to walk over and ask her for a dance. Raven looks him up and down like she's evaluating a piece of meat before smiling at him kind of all shy and flirty... and then she punched him right in the face! The guy drops like a stone, out like a light, and it caused a huge uproar in the dance hall since pretty much everyone saw it. Raven though just looked horribly disappointed. Then when an irate teacher came up and demanded to know why she did it she just said 'I just wanted to make sure he wasn't a total wimp. Which is a shame, since he was really, really cute.'"

That caused Yang to break down into yet another fit of uncontrollable giggles from where she was lying down next to him. The two of them had laid out on the grass while they talked and passed the bottle back and forth between them. Yang had tried to match Qrow drink for drink, which had of course been silly, since she really wasn't used to drinking and he could drink a half dozen men under the table.

Still it was worth it. After getting her juiced up for a bit and entertaining her with embarrassing stories about her mom from her Beacon days Yang's red eyes had gradually faded into the pretty lavender color that he remembered. Qrow didn't think she realized how much more relaxed she looked now. Yes, the alcohol probably had something to do with that, but he strongly suspected that wasn't the biggest reason.

"I can't picture my mom doing any of that stuff," Yang said between fits of laughter and giggles. "She would totally kill you if she heard you telling all those stories." The blonde teen reached an unsteady hand towards him, trying to get at the bottle he was now holding. Judging she'd probably had more than enough already Qrow pulled it out of her reach. When she sent him an annoyed look he smiled at her and began to chug the bottle. Yang watched in fascination and amazement as he drank the last third of a bottle of scotch all in one go.

"Holy crap," she breathed.

"That's twenty years of experience and training right there kid," he said after pulling the now-empty bottle from his lips. "Don't try this at home."

Judging that Yang looked suitably impressed Qrow threw the bottle somewhere off to the side and laid back on the grass with his hands behind his head. His niece followed his example and together they lay there next to each other for a few minutes in silence, looking up at the nice fluffy clouds in the sky. But while Yang let her mind drift pleasantly in a drunken haze Qrow's mind was hard at work.

He wanted Yang to leave with him when he left. Truth is he probably should have come up with some kind of plan beforehand. However flying by the seat of his pants was simply what he did, at least half the time. He really hoped it would work out this time like it usually did when he just winged it.

"Hey Uncle Qrow," Yang said, drawing him out of his reverie. He turned his head to look at her only to find her looking at him. This close he could see a faded, curved scar on her right cheek that he somehow hadn't noticed before.

"How come you don't like my red eyes?" she asked. There was a hint of something vulnerable under her tone.

"Just worried about you kid," he replied with an easy smile. "How about you? Do you really like them all that much better than your regular eyes?"

Yang nodded a little drunkenly, lavender eyes looking at him earnestly. "Yeah. They're real important. They're proof that I'm a Branwen."

Qrow quirked a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

At his question Yang's body language became somewhat uncomfortable and she turned her head away, looking up at the sky once again.

"I'm a Branwen, you know? But I wasn't born one hundred percent of the Tribe. Mom always told me that my dad had been too idealistic. That he had been a coward and a fool and ultimately too weak to be a man, to survive in the real world. If I wanted to survive then I'd have to purge any weakness that might grow inside of me because of his weak blood. The red eyes… they're proof that I'm a real Branwen. That I'm not weak like my father was. Does that make sense?"

Qrow was momentarily stunned speechless. "I… don't even know what to say to that," he said at last. "Your father is one of the strongest people I know, kid. Being 'weak' from his side is the last thing you need to worry about, trust me."

Yang turned to look at him, her eyes momentarily flashing red with irritation. "You left the Tribe and work for _Ozpin,_ " she said, saying the name like a dirty word. "I'll take my mom's word over yours on who's strong and who isn't. _Thanks_."

Qrow sighed, suddenly feeling tired and a bit woozy. "You don't know what you're talking about, firecracker."

"I know plenty enough, _Uncle Qrow_."

Well. It really should not have come as any kind of surprise that Yang was stubborn and hard headed, given who her parents were. If there was ever going to be any chance of Yang abandoning the Tribe and finding a more sane life like he had… well, there wasn't going to be any chance of that happening unless she left the Tribe for a while and got to see what else the rest of the world had to offer. Which is why he was here, really. To give her that opportunity.

Now he just had to sell it right if he wanted to get her interested.

Thankfully Qrow didn't always fly one hundred percent by the seat of his pants. There was a reason why he had been regaling her with stories of Raven's time at Beacon after all.

"Did your mom ever tell you why we decided to go to Beacon?"

Yang frowned at his sudden change in subject, but she went along with it easily enough. "Not really. She doesn't really talk about that time a whole lot."

Qrow smirked at that. Figures. "Well it's a long story, kid… but the long and short of it is that Beacon has always been famous for churning the very best Huntsmen and Huntresses in all of Remnant. She may have her issues with the Headmaster, but even Raven won't deny that Beacon only produces the best. If you can hack it, of course."

"Really?" Yang asked with a bit of a slur, propping herself up on her elbow and giving him her full attention. Qrow felt a little smug. He'd definitely peaked her interest now.

"Absolutely," he said with a firm nod. "Don't get me wrong, me and your mom would still be total badasses if we'd never gone to the academy. Nothing silly like not attending school would ever keep a Branwen down. But I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that I wouldn't be the caliber of Hunter I am today if it hadn't been for my time at Beacon."

Yang was definitely starting to look more interested, but even through her drunken haze the girl wasn't stupid. She narrowed her eyes on him accusingly, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. "You've been talking non-stop about Beacon in one way or another since we started drinking. What are you up to Uncle Qrow? Is this your way of trying to convince me to go to Beacon Academy?"

Well, looks like he hadn't been as subtle as he'd thought. Then again subtle wasn't exactly his strongest suit. Also he was more than a little bit drunk.

"Maybe," he said, suddenly wishing he hadn't polished off that bottle quite so fast. Then, remembering he still had his trusty flask on him, he pulled it out and took a swig.

Yang let out a derisive snort before letting herself flop back onto her back and crossing her fingers across her belly. She was silent for a long few minutes before she spoke. There was something like wistfulness and note of regret in her voice when she finally did.

"I'm not gonna lie, it does sound kind of awesome. My own little adventure and all that. But I don't know if I can be away from the Tribe for that long. People have come to rely on me, you know? And besides that my mom is also the Chief of the Tribe. It really wouldn't look good if I just took off for four years. On top of that I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't allow it." Deep sigh and thoughtful pause. "Besides _that_ I don't think Beacon would even take me. Ozpin and my mom hate each other don't they? And I never went to one of those fancy combat schools as a kid. The whole thing is nothing but a pipe dream."

 _Damn,_ thought Qrow unhappily as he looked at his niece, _you're really too young to already be thinking like that, firecracker._

Qrow took a few moments to gather his thoughts before he spoke. "Well, you're wrong about a couple of things," he began in a softer tone than normal. "Ozpin and Raven don't hate each other. They just don't see eye to eye. And though Raven might have some animosity towards him I can guarantee that Ozpin doesn't feel the same way." He paused for a moment before lightening his tone. "You're also wrong about one other thing. Your old Uncle Qrow has got some not-inconsiderable pull at Beacon and old Ozpin wouldn't dream of saying no to another Branwen. Even with all the trouble that me and Raven gave him the first time around."

Yang's eyes turned to him with curiosity and anticipation as he produced a thick, very fancy envelope from his person and held it out to her. Tentatively she reached out for it. She had rarely – if _ever_ – seen something written in such fancy paper before.

"What is this?" she asked as she plucked the envelope from his hands.

"You tell me. Go ahead and read it," he said with an encouraging grin.

It took her a few tries but in the end Yang managed to tear the envelope open. She read the letter three times before turning incredulous eyes to her uncle. "An invitation to Beacon Academy?"

"Yup," said Qrow with a self-satisfied smile. "All four years already taken care of in advance by the school. They have scholarships for especially promising candidates you see. All of the fiddly little details have already been taken care of. All you would have to do is show up in two months' time when the new academic school year begins. Assuming you decide to go, of course."

He had to admit, he really enjoyed the incredulous and incredibly surprised look that particular reveal caused in his niece. However when her head drooped moments later and her eyes slid away from him he began to feel a cold chunk of rock forming in his stomach. _Damn it_. By looking at her then he just _knew_ that this much wasn't going to be enough. Her sense of responsibility, or maybe her loyalty to Raven, or maybe a combination of the two, or who knew what else was making her think that she had to turn this down… even though he could _see_ that she actually really wanted this. Yang had always struck him as the adventuring and thrill seeking type after all.

Well. He wasn't exactly sure that he wanted to do this. Not here, not right now, and definitely not like this. But if he didn't pull out all of the big guns now he might never convince Yang go for this. If he couldn't even get her out from the clutches of the Tribe what would even be the point of holding back?

Preparing himself for what was to come, and silently apologizing to Ruby and Tai in his head, Qrow struck before Yang could work herself up to actually telling him no.

"It's real interesting you know," Qrow said with an air of feigned, casual disinterest. "You'd be starting in the same class as your sister. It'd really be something to see how the two of you stack up."

Predictably, her gaze instantly snapped up to him. He could see it in her eyes, the way her emotions stormed wildly with surprise and confusion.

"Wait. My _what?_ "

"Oh, I never mentioned it?" said Qrow so casually that he might as well have been talking about the weather. "You have a sister. Well, a half-sister. One who is _right about_ two years younger than you."

He watched it on her face as some of the possible implications of what he was saying gradually filtered into her scotch saturated mind. Qrow would like to say that he didn't enjoy her face slowly morphing into a look of abject shock and disbelief, but if he did then he would have been lying. Before she could ask the question burning in her mind Qrow preempted her with a teasing grin.

"Relax. Half-sister on your _father's_ side. Raven isn't hiding another sibling from you. Well, at least not to my knowledge anyway."

Yang's expression of horror slowly melted away into a more thoughtful look. Qrow knew that Yang wouldn't be as interested in a child of Taiyang as he would be in another child of Raven. However now he knew the crap that Raven had been feeding Yang about her father. Hopefully he could use that to goad Yang further down the path he wanted her to take.

"Yup, Ruby's quite the little combat genius too," he threw out casually. "I wonder which one of you would come out ahead in a fight?"

Her eyes snapped to him, lavender briefly flashing red. "You've got to be frikking kidding. You think some kid growing up soft in the kingdoms could ever be a match for _me_? You're losing your marbles old man."

"You think so?" Qrow said, tailoring his grin to maximum smug. "She got an exclusive invite to Beacon at fifteen – two years earlier than anyone else by the way – after she single handedly took out a criminal gang in Vale. Then she got into a fight with a woman that even a full veteran Huntress couldn't take down and walked away unscathed."

Granted, he was… _embellishing_ things just a little bit. The entire "criminal gang" had only been about five untrained thugs. And the woman in red that Ruby had "fought"… well Ruby hadn't done much more than take a few ineffectual pot shots at her before Glynda had had to pull her butt out of the fire. However being strictly "accurate" wasn't the point. The point was to get Yang interested in Ruby.

One way or the other.

"Like I said, my cute little niece is a bonafide combat genius. I should know, I trained her myself." Qrow could see Yang's temper start to rise. He could also see that she was starting to feel jealous. Qrow had never trained her after all, and before this as far as she'd known she had been Qrow's only niece. Heedless of the consequences he egged her on even more. "Taught her to use a combat scythe just like I do, too. Now, that weapon is simply too dangerous for most people to use, but for someone like Ruby? Let me tell you, she took to it just like a fish to water."

By this point Yang's eyes were fading in and out of red and her hair looked like it wanted to start glowing. If it wasn't for the alcohol in her system Qrow suspected that her Semblance would already have been burning full steam. He gave her one last taunting little smile. Time to drive the nail home in the coffin.

"Not bad for a girl who came from such 'weak blood' as your father's, huh? Especially given the fact that he's raised her for her entire life. Maybe she miraculously avoided all of his influence even living in the same house as him. Or maybe…" He said, pausing to give her a significant look. "Maybe there's more to the other side of your family than you know."

At the end of his little monologue Yang shot up to her feet. Her fists were clenching, and she was very much still getting angry, but she was hesitating. Thinking over what he'd said. Qrow could only think that that was a good sign.

She glared at him, and briefly a look of betrayal and confusion crossed her face. "How come you never mentioned this girl before?" Then she paused before adding with a bit more bite. "And why do you call her your niece? You're not related by blood anyway."

"First of all," he began, his voice carrying a hint of steel. "You don't need to be related by blood to be family. You of all people should know that. The Tribe are all supposed to be one big happy 'family' aren't they?"

Yang looked like she had bitten into something sour, but in the end she reluctantly nodded and conceded his point.

"Good. As for the second thing," Qrow said, his voice softening and shrugging somewhat helplessly. "Your dad's always been kind of taboo. Your mom didn't want me saying anything about him to you and after a while you didn't seem all that interested. Now I know why that was but… I figured that it might just be best to enjoy what little time we had together and not to rock the boat too much. Well, not rock the boat much more than I _usually_ did anyway."

There was another reason why he had never told her however. If he had told Yang, then he would have felt obligated to tell Ruby… and Taiyang had asked him not to tell his second child that she had a sister. Frankly Qrow hadn't agreed with that, but it wasn't like he was her father. As far as he knew Ruby still had no idea that Yang existed.

Yang didn't look particularly thrilled at his explanation but thankfully she at least seemed to accept it. Qrow suspected it was the alcohol making her less argumentative and bull-headed. Her Semblance bled away and with it Yang seemed to get woozy. She let herself plop down heavily onto the grass again, a troubled and conflicted look on her face.

"Look kid," Qrow began softly. "I think it's pretty obvious by now that I think you should go to Beacon. It really is the best place in the world to learn how to fight. And look at it this way: either you're going to confirm with your own eyes that your mother is right about the world out there, that everyone is stupid and everything in shit so you're better off sticking with the Tribe forever... or you're going to see things that don't quite fit with your own two eyes and form your own opinions. It's a win-win for you either way. And trust me, the Tribe will survive without you. And when and if you do come back you'll be all that much more knowledgeable and stronger for it."

He could see that she was hesitating, but he could also tell that he was swaying her. It helped that he knew that she really wanted this. _Just a little more... come on Yang._

"Remember when you were a kid?" He asked her, trying to catch her eye. "And you used to tell me about all the crazy adventures you wanted to have one day?"

Yang didn't answer him, but instead just nodded distractedly.

"Well this is your big chance, firecracker. Because mark my words: opportunities like this usually only come once."

It might have been perfect to leave things right there for her to think about. But of course Qrow being Qrow couldn't help himself and had to add one more thing. With a teasing grin he said, "Besides I really want to see your 'soft' little sister kick your ass. Because honestly I think that would be hilarious."

Yang gave him a dirty look, before breaking down and giving him a small smile while letting out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. Then she cradled her head in her hands let out a loud groan of frustration. Qrow waited as patiently as he could, taking a deep swig from his flask as she thought. But damn was it hard to just sit there and anxiously wait for her to make up her mind.

After what must have been just a few minutes but felt incredibly longer Yang finally lifted her head. Her expression was vulnerable, and tentative, but it looked like she had made up her mind. _Finally_. He smiled at her encouragingly as she took a deep breath.

"Okay," she said a little shakily. "So. I don't know about all that other stuff. But about Beacon. I think… I think that maybe I do want to go to-"

Suddenly a voice interrupted them from barely a meter behind them. Cold. Hard. Self-assured and female. Impaired as they both were by the copious amounts of alcohol the voice caught the both of them completely by surprise.

"What's this I hear about Beacon?"

It was almost comical how fast the color drained from Yang's face at the sound of that very familiar voice. However inside Qrow let out a string of curses that would have made a hardened sailor blush. He turned to face the newcomer, a painfully fake smile plastered on his face.

"Long time no see. How's it going Raven?"


End file.
